UK unveils number of dead Russians on New Year's Eve in Ukraine’s Makiivka

Russia highly likely suffered more than 300 casualties in a strike on troop accommodation at Makiivka near Ukraine’s Donetsk City on January 1, 2023.

We assess that the majority were likely killed or missing, rather than wounded, Caliber.Az reports citing the Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, which is published by the UK Defence Ministry.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 28 January 2023

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/rQI3IVrDMH

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/QA2OBo1rpk

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 28, 2023

Following the strike, the Russian Ministry of Defence took the rare step of publicly acknowledging it had suffered casualties, claiming 89 killed. Russian officials likely assessed that it was not viable to avoid comment in the face of widespread criticism of Russian commanders over the incident.

The difference between the number of casualties Russia acknowledged and the likely true total highlights the pervasive presence of disinformation in Russian public announcements. This typically comes about through a combination of deliberate lying authorised by senior leaders, and the communication of inaccurate reports by more junior officials, keen to downplay their failings in Russia’s ‘blame and sack’ culture.